Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-19
THE WILD WAVES.

anu cast glance AT the pld cat that laN
snooZiug in the splint bottom rocking
chair, ''grandPop, said he, what are III,
wild waves SAYING
The Old Settler looked up from tn,
pages of the local paper. i'll which he wa:
reading ali account Of hog guessing
match that had come OF over nj the Cor
ners. He scuwled over his spectacles al
Peleg who fitted the clothespin carefully
on his nose and closed his mouth to ST,
how long he could hold his breath.
"Pelegr' exclaimed his grandmother
''take that clothcspin often Yer nose, Ne
gimme cold in the head to hear ye
What was ye meanin' Ter say
Peleg removed the clothespin and re
peated his remark
THE new school mann from town
boards to Bill simmons and t'other nigh,
she was telling Us about Coney's island
She's been there lots, and she told us that
she could set on the bank down there and
listen 10 what the wild waves was saying
all day long. | asked her what they was
saying. and she said oh. much little
boy She didn't say how much. or what
il was, and | asked Bill Simmons if he
knowed, and he said he did. but wasn't
giving il away. Go ask yer Erandlrup.
Bill said. II he can't tell YOU. says Bill.
the worlds comir z to an end That S
how | come 10 ask you, gran ipOp. Can't
you tell me-
Yes, bgosh, l kim exclaimed the
Old Settler, shaking his fist in the direc-
ton Of the Simmons homestead. Il kin
tell yei Them wild waves is a sayin'. an
they re yoopin' il out SOS il kin be heer,l
from Coney's island 10 sundown. th't the
bes' thing you kin do is to keep shet o
that Bill Simmons. or THAI shingle ont
thar in the yard that'n make the proper
est kind of a paddle. an if that paddle is
made an used yoU'll hef to stan up fer
more'n week " en- We eat yer slapjacks
an 'lasses! That's AT them wild waves
is sayin', Peleg. an it's yer poor ol gran
pop th't's tellin' We 50, b'gosht 'lmighty.
an We won't listen
Peleg sat down by the side Of the splint
bottom rocking chair He said nothing, but
thought 10 himself. as he toyed with the
clothespin, that if the wild waves had said
all that Ia the schoolma' m she must have
been more than pleased at their remarks
about the paddle and the slapjacks The
Old Settler picked up his paper again.
Peleg's grandmother took her knitting
and went off to the ''settin'" room, and
his grandfather, after finishing the ac-
count of the hog guessing-which stated
that Pete Hellriggie had won the hog
and remarking that il Pete didn't trade
the hog off for bar'l o cider the winnin'
OF it d be lucky thing for his family, ez
they'd ben browsin' on sassyfrax all
winter, he turned TO Peleg and said:
Yes, my son, that's wat them wild
waves is sayin', an ez yer gran NANNY
hain't in hearin' 10 get worried at our
talkin', I'll tell ye wat some wild waves
done TO me wunst. Them waves didn't
say nothin, but they jist got up an done.
This happened Wen l Were a boy, con-
sid able many years ago. 'Twere on the
ninth day of April, 1872, in the AFTERNOON.
were jist comm year old. Their had
ben a big rain fer two or three days. an
know'd th't Slophck creek must be jist
right fer sucker fishin', an SO | snaked
my paps Ches nut pole an hosshair line
outen the barn an cut cross lots fer the
big bend o the creek. w'ich were jist over
a raise o ground from our cabin in the
clearin', mebby four or five rod away, but
out o. sight. cause 'twere in the gully,
twenty five foot lower'n n the Clearin. An
speakin' o sucker fishin', sonny, yen see.
fore ! git through with this leetle anec-
dote, th't tn was suckers in the creeks in
them DAYS. TIL haint none i'll EN- now,
but thuz a many o one outen the creeks,
an big un's, too. Wall. wen come in
sight o whar ol' Sloplick orter been jist
more tn n billing, OWN to the hard rains,
l almcs' tumbled back in faintin fit.
TIL want no Sloplick thar! The bed
~ ln lr-t-n "
herrin', FL fur ez | could see down
a ben no barer th'n them rocks on the
bottom was. The creek had fall o.
more n twenty foot 10 the miIed. an even
in low water went down by thar, on its
way TO the river three miled below. like a
peeled hemlock log down a roll way, an
thar she We're, arter all them rains, dry
an empty from bank 10 bank. Peleg,
were skeert, and tuck TO tremblin wuss
thin a hungry dog at daylight on frosty
thort the world were comm
TO an end right thar an then. Pooty soon
i got stiddy enough to look up the creek,
an then | were skeert wuss'n ever, fer
bout quarter of a miled away. in that
direction. thar were the creek agoin' up
stream eZ i-st ez il could tear! Coin
right up that long grade o twenty foot to
the miled, Peleg, like a train o keers,
Wen see that jist Topped right down
an waited fer the earthquakes an g .b'rel
to come follerin' along. acrackin' an a
toOtn' laid thar aw lie. but they didn't
neither on 'em come. an the creek KEEP
aclimbin' up to'ard its headwaters. Zif
il d ben sent fer to come back hum an
hadn't no time 10 spare gittIn' thar. Ii
were movin' back ards in a flood more n
thirty foot high, eZ nigh eZ could jedge
from seein' the gable eend of it, an pooty
soon / noticed tn tn were heap o. CONF
motion on the edge of il.
wall, says | TO myself. gittin' up
onter my feet, til can't be nOthin' to
hurt feller in food th't's doin' its best
to run away from him like that, says /,
an so GUESS Ill quit waitin fer Gabriel
an the 'arthquakes,' says ], an II jist
start arter that creek an see W ats ailin'
on it TO make it 60 an cut up that way
says /.
$50 away dug eZ tight ez my legs'd
carry me, but the creek had cot such a
start o me that il tuck me a good half
hour fore ] ketched up with it An ez
soon ez did ketch up with it, my son, /
L
must know, 10 git the hang % this, PeliG,
th't suckers starts fer the creeks on the
fuSt high water th't comes in the spring,
an th't they gether together 10y the boat
load at the mouths of creeks waitin' fer the
flood th't tells 'em things is ready fer 'em
up the creek, an then up they go. That
had been an onusu'l good season for suck
ers TO winter over in. and they had waXed
an crowd fat, an gethered in such un-
common big crowds th't Wen they started
In at the mouth o SIopncK creek tnar
ninth day % April, they jest damned the
hull durn course O the stream. an fer a
time il had been nip an tuck ez TO witch
ID hef 10 stop, the creek or the suckers.
But i'll them days suckers had vim an
push in 'em. These fellers at the mouth
o Slopiick had started TO git up that
creek. an 'twa'n't their fault. b gosh, if
il couldn't furnish water enough, with all
the rain il d had fer week past, fer EN-
to wiggle up on; 50 they jist put their
shoulders TO the wheel, an at it they
went, an showed the rushin' flood Of OF
Sloplirk right back with 'em, pilin' it up
in wall thirty foot high, an keepin' her
a novin back so fast, steep eZ the grade